Electro Harmonix Mainframe

Electro Harmonix Mainframe takes you back in time to when Pac Man and Donkey Kong ruled the arcades and Commodore 64 was high tech.

It provides sample rate reduction ranging from 48kHz to 110Hz. When the sample rate is reduced the quality of the audio is degraded and aliasing occurs. Aliasing means audible artifacts created when higher frequencies are sampled at an inadequate rate and the result is distortion. The Mainframe’s sample rate range is wide enough to take you from sounds that are quite pristine to sounds that are unrecognizable when compared to the input signal.

It also provides bit crushing ranging from 24-bit to 1-bit. Higher bit depths can accurately represent a greater dynamic range while bit crushing increases the number of sampling errors and creatively degrades the sound to bring us back to those nasty “old school” sounds we love.

The Mainframe’s selectable High/Low/Band-Pass filter lets the user shape the artifacts of the bit crushing and sample rate. Another very cool feature is its Sample Rate Tuning Mode where the pedal analyzes your input signal in real-time and sets the sample rate to match the pitch of your signal, or a set interval above your signal. This allows you to set the sample rate to match the key of a song, or it will continually adjust the sample rate based on what you play!

Electro Harmonix Mainframe demo video